In church fellowship halls, at kitchen tables and on front porches or verandas, a movement simmered, and strategies were created. At its heart stood an army not often thought of as an army or military unit: the Black mothers of the Civil Rights Movement. With unwavering determination, these women championed justice, nurtured strength, and empowered generations to dream of a world where equality was not just a distant aspiration, but an imminent reality. Their stories of struggle and triumph weave a tapestry of tenacity, providing a blueprint that reminds us that behind every march, every protest, and every rallying cry for justice, these women lit the way forward with love and sacrifice.
They were Southern pillars of courage. Some were childless yet they mothered others by providing inspiration and wisdom. Some have passed on, while some are still fighting. Some moved unconventionally, some moved quietly, and some moved alone or with groups. All of them moved with purpose.
Here is a roundup of a few of those mothers, including a new vanguard of Black Southern pillars.
The Journalist-Activists
Charlotta Spears Bass (1880-1969) was born in Sumter, South Carolina. Publisher of The California Eagle, Bass was one of the first African American women to run a newspaper in the U.S. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911) was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She was an author, journalist, suffragist and staunch abolitionist. She co-founded the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs. Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) was born into slavery in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Wells-Barnett was a journalist, anti-lynching activist, women’s suffragist, and early civil rights movement leader.
Read: 32 Southern-bred African American Women in Journalism
The College Founders
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1955) was born in Mayesville, South Carolina. She co-founded Bethune-Cookman College in 1929. in 1935, she became the founding president of the National Council of Negro Women, and she used her platform to advance Black voter participation. Bethune was a businesswoman who co-owned a Daytona, Florida resort and co-founded the Central Life Insurance Company of Tampa. Lucy Craft Laney (1854-1933) was born in Macon, Georgia. In 1883, she founded Haines Normal and Industrial Institute, now part of Augusta University. Haines not only offered its students a holistic approach to education but also served as a cultural center for the African American community. The school hosted orchestra concerts, lectures by nationally famous guests, and various social events. Laney also inaugurated the first kindergarten and created the first nursing training programs for African American women in Augusta. Elizabeth Evelyn Wright (1872-1906) was born in Talbotton, Georgia. In 1902, she opened Voorhees Industrial School in Denmark, South Carolina. It is now Voorhees University.
The Philanthropists
Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) was born in Memphis, Tennessee. She was a prominent civil rights activist and suffragist, who supported most voting rights, women’s rights and children’s causes. Maggie Lena Walker (1864-1934) was born in Richmond, Virginia.Walker’s first business endeavors were rooted in philanthropy. Before chartering a bank, she owned an insurance company that aided women and she managed a mutual aid society that served the community. Throughout her life, she gave her time and money in support of race, women and girls’ causes. Mollie Moon (1907-1990) was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She was the founder and president of the National Urban League Guild, the fundraising arm of the National Urban League. She served as president of the Guild for almost 50 years, from its founding until her death. She established the League’s charity gala, Beaux Arts Ball,which raised the money the League needed for sustainability.
The Black Women’s Reproductive Rights and Welfare Rights Activists
Loretta Ross (1953) was born in Temple, Texas. She is a cofounder of SisterSong and Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective as well as one of the 12 women who coined the phrase “reproductive justice.” She served as the director of the DC Rape Crisis Center, and continues to be an advocate for Black women’s reproductive rights. Etta Mae Horn (1928) was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was a prominent welfare rights advocate. As an activist, she worked alongside other anti-poverty organizers to improve the living conditions of low-income DC residents. Ophelia Settle Egypt (1903-1984) was born in Clarksville, Texas. Her first career after completing college was as a teacher in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Egypt would also become a sociologist, and through her affiliation with Fisk University, the curator of over 100 interviews of formerly enslaved, elderly Black people, was the first of its kind. As a social worker, her women’s and maternal health advocacy work is a great part of her legacy.
The Entertainer Activists
Nina Simone (1933-2003) was born in Tryon, North Carolina. She dedicated her art, her time and her money to forwarding the civil rights movement and fighting stereotypes of Black women in song. Bernice Johnson Reagon (1942-2024) was born in Albany, Georgia. She was a student member of SNCC and the NAACP focusing on voter registration drives and anti-segregation protests. Perhaps she is best known for forming Sweet Honey in the Rock, an a capella ensemble of African American women singers. Eartha Kitt (1927-2008) was born in North, South Carolina. She would identify as a civil rights activist throughout her career. Kitt supported freedom marches with her name and presence; she was a anti-war peace activist, and she believed in gay marriage.
A New Vanguard of Leaders & Doers
Catherine Coleman Flowers was born in Birmingham, Alabama but raised in rural Lowndes County, Alabama. The MacArthur Genius is an environmental health advocate focusing on and fighting against unequal sewage and sanitation access for rural communities and people of color. In 2020, her memoir Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret was published. LaTosha Brown is the award-winning co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund, a power building southern based civic engagement organization that played an instrumental role in the 2017 Alabama U.S. Senate race, that relied on grassroots tactics to bring Black people to the polls. . Brown is the founding project director of Grantmakers for Southern Progress. Pepper Roussel is a Louisiana born attorney who champions Black food sovereignty and environmental justice as it relates to all communities, especially Black farm communities. She was the principal of Keep it Compliant, a consultancy practice dedicated to serving individuals in the thriving global cannabis industry. And she was the founding director of Culinaria Center for food law, policy, and culture.
As the echoes of the civil rights movement continue to resonate, the legacy of these extraordinary women endures, inspiring new generations to stand against injustice. Their tireless efforts and indomitable spirit laid the groundwork for a more inclusive society, urging us to pursue a world where every voice is heard, and every life is valued. By honoring their contributions, we acknowledge that the fight for equality is far from over and that the strength of these mothers of courage remains a guiding light towards a future shaped by compassion, unity, and unwavering resolve.
Additional reading about Black Southern Belle Mothers of Courage:
Who is Daisy Bates? Take a Tour of this Advocate and Tastemaker’s Midcentury Modern Home
5 Black Women of the Civil Rights Movement from South Carolina
Civil Rights Icon, Xernona Clayton Interviewed on Sweet Auburn Stories
Celebrating MLK by Remembering Some of the Women Who Fed Him
Robin Caldwell
Robin Caldwell is the blogger behind freshandfriedhard.com and academic researcher focusing on Black history, heritage and culture. Public historian primarily in Black American historical foodways: antebellum and regional.
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Robin Caldwell is the blogger behind freshandfriedhard.com and academic researcher focusing on Black history, heritage and culture. Public historian primarily in Black American historical foodways: antebellum and regional.
